“I feel mentally very fresh and you could see that by the way I batted in the Big Bash. I was totally free and that is how I want to bat for England again.

“I always said this was not about money and I will be donating my full Surrey wage to my foundation.

“A lot of people thought I would not be prepared to put in the hard yards and play county cricket but I will do anything to get that England cap back on my head.”

Pietersen has not been given any guarantees just yet by Graves or the ECB, but he insists that the decision is about having no regrets when his career is finally over.

He added: “Even if this does not work out and I do not get back in the England team, I will at least end my career knowing I gave it another shot. I would kick myself for a long time if I walked away now without having a go.”

Surrey: Pietersen in action during the T20 blast (Image: Getty)

Pietersen’s first competitive match is set to be against Glamorgan on April 19th in Cardiff, but he may even feature in Surrey’s warm up fixture against Oxford University on April 12th.

"I would kick myself for a long time if I walked away now without having a go.

"A lot of people thought I would not be prepared to put in the hard yards and play county cricket but I will do anything to get that England cap back on my head."

He added in a statement on the Surrey website: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be back at Surrey. It’s a club very close to my heart and Alec Stewart, Graham Ford and everyone at the club has been exceptionally supportive.

"There is a fantastic group of lads here and hopefully we can deliver what the great Surrey fans want to see – lots of runs and comprehensive victories."

Pietersen has scored over 8000 runs in 104 Test matches for England, with his 23 centuries second only to current skipper Alastair Cook in the all-time list.